All of Doctor Who, one episode at a time!

Episode 216 – “The Mind Robber” – Part 01

Yes, it’s been a while. But things have been happening. Also, stuff. But things are better now, so buckle up for an acid trip of an episode featuring alternate dimensions, white robots, and the TARDIS exploding!

Also the shot that launched a million boys on the exciting journey of puberty!

This is a really weird story. It starts with the TARDIS being swallowed-up by very unconvincing lava. The Doctor is only able to free it by sending the machine into some weird alternate reality that exists outside of time and space.

So that’s fun.

Zoe gets lured outside by images of their respective homes, which at least provides a somewhat better explanation than just wandering around outside because, hey, why not? Jamie then goes chasing after her as the Doctor panics and acts a bit weird.

We then see Jamie and Zoe running around the inside of an empty sound stage, which is every bit as exciting as it sounds. They then get menaced by weird white robots, as the Doctor sees a vision of them in white clothes beckoning at him while organ music plays.

Then thing start to get a little weird, and we get that oh-so-famous ending where the TARDIS explodes, the Doctor drifts into space, and Zoe screams.

This is a truly tripy episode, even when compared with the rest of the story. It goes into some really weird places, but it works, mostly. I can only imagine how confusing it must have been to people back in the day.